Chelsea are closing in on the signing of Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap as they look to add to their squad ahead of next season that will include Champions League football.
The Blues have triggered a £30million release clause in the striker’s contract and seem to have beaten off competition for the player’s signature. football.london has been told that Delap chose a move to Stamford Bridge for three key reasons.
The first is the style of play by manager Enzo Maresca, the second is the quality of the squad already at the club and the third is a belief that the club can challenge for top honours in seasons to come.
Delap will already know what to expect of Maresca having worked with the manager before during his time in the academy at Man City. He played 22 games under the Italian, scoring 27 goals in both Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy.
But it’s not only Maresca who Delap has previously worked with that could work in Chelsea’s favour. Delap’s time in the City youth team also saw him play alongside Cole Palmer.
The two players have played together for a total of 33 matches for City U18s, U23s and England U21s. In those appearances one has assisted the other on eight occasions.
The last game the two played together was for the England U21 team in October 2023. Delap was on the scoresheet in a 9-1 win over Serbia.
Speaking to Sky Sports just a few weeks ago , Delap gave an exiting verdict on Palmer. “Him (Palmer) and Macca (James McAtee) were both there behind me and, you know, it helped me so much to score,” he said. “To win games with them two behind me, it was so good to have two quality players like that.
“Obviously Cole now – the stuff he’s done in the last two years is incredible, and he is one of the better players in the world at the moment.”
The two will hope that the previous connection can instantly be reforged at Stamford Bridge at the start of next season. It shouldn’t need the bedding in period that some relationships on the field sometimes need, and that will only be good news for Chelsea.
With the connections with both the manager and a key teammate already in place, Delap should be able to hit the ground running.
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